Insurance and carpooling

To date, carpooling is not subject to any particular regulation that distinguishes it from the current use of a vehicle authorizing the transport of a spouse, friends, colleagues or children. In this context, therefore no specific auto insurance is required vis-à-vis third parties. Indeed, in case of accident, all passengers are compensated by the "civil liability to third parties". This insurance is compulsory for the driver, no extension is necessary.

However, we ask members of the Grand Troyes to comply with the following recommendations network, especially from the French Federation of Insurance Companies.

What precautions to take in insurance when making carpool?

Precautions for drivers

The motorist must report to their insurer his carpool practices, whatever the formula adopted. The latter may well appreciate the risks covered and the attention of the insured on the issues related to carpooling.
The driver must ensure that the guarantee covers all trips made with the insured vehicle, including therefore those made to get to the workplace, back, and whatever the passengers.
If he wishes to share the driving of a vehicle with another passenger, the driver must ensure that the contract contains no clause exclusive driving.
The driver must ensure that even if the contract includes the wheel of loan is the insurance underwriter would be penalized with a penalty in case of accidents caused by the occasional driver.

Precautions for passengers

Each passenger must have liability insurance which will enable it to deal with incidents of responsibility that could cause damage to the vehicle or its owner.
This liability insurance shall not specifically be purchased for carpooling. It is often included in other insurance policies (school insurance, multi-risk home insurance, car insurance, travel insurance, supplemental health, ...) in view of its mandatory nature. In any case, if your passenger behavior is correct, there is no reason that your liability.
But in case of accident, passengers will be compensated for their property and personal injury by the insurer of the vehicle under the compulsory civil liability guarantee attached to it. Although an uninsured driver is fully responsible for accidents involving damage to its passengers, a good practice for the passenger is to verify that the driver has a valid driving license and the insurance sticker on windshield is updated.

Incident during a trips, what responsibilities?

Driver's responsibility in the general case

Regarding the covoiturés, it is the driver's responsibility to hold liability insurance to third parties or to the process with their insurance. The French Federation of Insurance recommends that a statement is top preventively to protect against a refusal of compensation insurance because of Article L 113-2 of the Insurance Code which requires to report any new circumstances that would result exacerbate the risks or create new ones.
For all the incidents out of traffic accidents and cause injury to the passenger, it will initiate tort driver. Indeed, the Court of Cassation, in a judgment of Mixed Chamber of 20 December 1968, affirmed this position. An example would be a delay in an unexpected detour to a driver behavior contrary to good morals, or damage to baggage of the passenger. In the absence of agreement between the parties, the passenger will have to prove the fault of the driver, injury, and causation between.

Passenger liability in the general case

Concerning the passenger, we can consider some similar mistakes to those of the driver: a delay in the appointment point, inappropriate behavior. The driver can possibly engage in tort, but this solution seems ineffective because of the difficulty of proving the fault of the passenger who has no control of the vehicle.

Incident during a trip carpool home to work, what responsibilities?

Corporate responsibility in the case of commuting accidents

A company implementing a carpooling site usually carries just a site "by linking". Having set up a matchmaking website did not affect his liability for accidents that may occur during a commute, performed by employees carpooling with their own vehicles.

Carpoolers remedies following an accident on their way home work

Art. L. 411-2. Code of Social Security - is also considered an accident where the victim or his beneficiaries demonstrate that all the following conditions are met or when the investigation allows the fund to have this point prima facie, the accident on a worker mentioned in this book, for the journey to and back, between:
1) primary residence, a second home with a stable character or any other place where the worker goes the usual way for family-related reasons and the workplace. This route may not be the most direct when performed detour becomes necessary as part of a regular carpool;
2) the place of work and the restaurant, canteen or, more generally, the place where the worker usually takes a meal, and to the extent that the course was not interrupted or diverted to a pattern dictated by the staff and foreign interest the essential needs of everyday life or self employment.
It should be noted that the management under travel accident victim does not prevent the passenger to exercise a common law remedy (on the basis of the so-called Badinter law of 5 July 1985), against the driver, even if it is a colleague or employer to obtain additional compensation (L.455-1 Code of social security).

Regular carpools, or detour to accommodate other employees

Recall that for all practical purposes outside the regular carpool expressly covered by the Code of Social Security, the judges admitted commuting accident in case of exceptional detour to accompany a colleague in the following cases:

detour of the employer to escort employees (injured passengers) for service to them in the absence of means of transport (Soc., Feb. 17, 1994, No. 90-21739)

The ride may not be as direct or seeing is not unduly lengthened

Indeed, although the trip is admitted or is necessary as part of a regular carpool, it should not be overly stretched and remain in the minds of carpooling (take a colleague on the trip or residing proximity). Otherwise, he risks being reclassified as ordinary accident by the crate and judges whether a procedure was initiated. The victim passenger would be compensated by the insurer of the vehicle on the sole basis of the Badinter law.